The virtual 1969-76 Yankees, Red Sox, and Indians (Part 1: 1968-69)
Recently we had some fun with a counterfactual scenario involving three National League franchises over the period of about a decade. That got the imagination stirring enough to consider the hypothetical interactions of a different trio of teams.
The period extending from the expansion of 1968-69 until the dawn of Free Agency in 1976-77 was notoriously turbulent off the field of play, but it also produced some extremely competitive, interesting, and just plain fun baseball. This was particularly true in the American League East Division.
This was the period in which the New York Yankees gradually rose from the detritus of their mid-1960s collapse and rebuilt into a champion. Meanwhile, the Boston Red Sox strove to capture another flag to join their “Impossible Dream” banner from 1967, but despite producing prodigious young talent, came close but repeatedly fell short until finally achieving a title in 1975. And playing the role of “fall guy,” the Cleveland Indians stumbled along in a state of relentless mediocrity, fully assuming the sad-sack franchise character that would still be their unfortunate label in the 1989 movie Major League—and the Tribe did it while trading significant talent to the Red Sox and, especially, to the Yankees.
Were these paths inevitable for the Yankees, Red Sox, and Indians in the early-to-mid-1970s? Or might things have plausibly turned out quite a bit differently?
Let’s find out.
Our three adopted franchises enter our exercise in interestingly similar postures: they finished third (Cleveland), fourth (Boston), and fifth (New York) in the 10-team A.L. in 1968. For the Indians, 1968 represented their strongest showing since 1959; for the Red Sox, ’68 was a disappointing comedown from their thrilling ’67 pennant, and for the Yankees, it was an encouraging improvement after three straight second-division disasters.
The 1968-69 offseason: Actual deals we will make
Oct. 21, 1968: The New York Yankees sold pitcher Jim Bouton to the Seattle Pilots.
It’s all too clear that the once-terrific Bouton is never going to be that kind of pitcher again. Like the actual Yankees, our version will send him along to pursue his dreams with the expansion Pilots. (We don’t believe the rumor that he’s thinking of writing a book.)
Oct. 21, 1968: The New York Yankees purchased pitcher Don Nottebart from the Cincinnati Reds.
We’ll give this journeyman the roster spot instead. Nottebart was never nearly as good as Bouton at his best, but he’s had more recent success.
Oct. 21, 1968: The Cleveland Indians traded first baseman Bill Davis to the San Diego Padres for cash and a player to be named later. (On Dec. 2, 1968, the Padres sent shortstop Zoilo Versalles to the Indians, completing the deal.)
Speaking of once-terrific players who’ve fallen on hard times … like the real-life Indians, we’ll take a look and see if Versalles has anything left. He’s only 29.
Nov. 6, 1968: The New York Yankees sold infielder Ruben Amaro to the California Angels.
No room for this veteran.
Dec. 3, 1968: The Boston Red Sox traded pitcher Gary Waslewski to the St. Louis Cardinals for infielder Dick Schofield.
We think Ducky can help as a utility infielder.
Dec. 4, 1968: The New York Yankees traded pitcher Dooley Womack to the Houston Astros for outfielder Dick Simpson.
And we like a guy with Simpson’s tools.
Dec. 4, 1968: The New York Yankees traded outfielder-first baseman Andy Kosco to the Los Angeles Dodgers for pitcher Mike Kekich.
Kosco performed better than Kekich in 1968, but Kekich is three years younger, and left-handed pitchers are always in shorter supply than right-handed-batting corner outfielders.
Dec. 6, 1968: The New York Yankees traded third baseman Charley Smith to the San Francisco Giants for infielder Nate Oliver.
We’re not particularly interested in Oliver, but Smith is looking pretty toasty.
Jan. 8, 1969: The New York Yankees purchased catcher John Orsino from the Washington Senators.
Before a knee injury derailed his career, Orsino could hit. We’ll give him a chance at the third-string catcher role.
March 11, 1969: The Boston Red Sox traded pitcher Mark Schaeffer to the Houston Astros for catcher Hal King.
Another guy who’ll never win any defensive awards, but King has put up some outstanding offensive numbers in the minors.
April 4, 1969: The Cleveland Indians traded outfielder Lou Johnson to the California Angels for outfielder-infielder Chuck Hinton.
Hinton offers far more defensive versatility than Sweet Lou.
The 1968-69 offseason: Actual deals we will not make
Oct. 8, 1968: The Cleveland Indians traded pitcher Eddie Fisher to the California Angels for pitcher Jack Hamilton.
Hamilton’s the sort of talent it could be worthwhile picking up cheaply, via the waiver wire or as a Rule 5 pick or something. But he isn’t worth the expenditure of Steady Eddie Fisher.
Nov. 13, 1968: The New York Yankees sold infielder John Kennedy to the Seattle Pilots.
We don’t think we’ve got the kind of infield depth to allow casting away the good-field, no-hit Kennedy.
The 1968-69 offseason: Deals we will invoke
Nov. 13, 1968: The New York Yankees traded infielder-outfielder Tom Tresh and pitchers Thad Tillotson and Pete Magrini to the Seattle Pilots for outfielder Tommy Davis.
But we do think we can do some trading business with the Pilots.
The multi-talented Tresh has encountered accelerating struggle with the bat over the past couple of years, and we just have to find a change of scenery for him. It’s quite plausible that Seattle would take him exchange for Davis—another former star who’s had a rough go of it recently; he was unprotected in the expansion draft, after all—so long as we also provide them with a couple of useful arms. Tillotson and Magrini are both “quadruple-A” types, exactly the sort for whom an expansion team can provide an opportunity and perhaps be pleasantly surprised.
Our interest in acquiring Davis is that with the retirement of Mickey Mantle, we find ourselves in need of a replacement middle-of-the-order bat. While we hold no illusion that even an in-his-prime Davis is a shadow of Mantle, we like his chances of offensive production going forward more than those of Tresh, and we’re willing to sacrifice Tresh’s superior defensive ability accordingly.
We’ll put Davis at first base, where Mantle had been in 1968.
Dec. 3, 1968: The Boston Red Sox traded catcher Jerry Moses and cash to the New York Yankees for catcher Frank Fernandez.
We love the three-true-outcomes package that Fernandez offers, but Yankee Stadium is the completely wrong ballpark for his right-handed power. Meanwhile, Fenway Park is completely right for it. So our Red Sox are willing to swap Moses, who’s four years younger than Fernandez and is a far better hitter for average.
Dec. 5, 1968: In a three-club deal, the Cleveland Indians traded pitcher Steve Hargan and outfielder Jimmie Hall to the New York Yankees for pitcher Bill Burbach and outfielder Tom Shopay, the Yankees sent third baseman Bobby Cox to the Seattle Pilots, and the Pilots sent pitcher Darrell Brandon to the Indians.
Hargan and Hall are far more talented than anyone else here, but both were also flops in Cleveland in 1968. Therefore our Indians are willing to expend them for the so-so prospects Burbach and Shopay, plus the journeyman Brandon.
March 31, 1969: The Cleveland Indians traded outfielder Lee Maye and pitcher Woody Woodson to the Washington Senators for outfielder Cap Peterson and first baseman-outfielder Gary Holman.
Actually on this date these teams completed the Woodson-for-Peterson portion of this one. Our Indians will add Maye (whom we know the Senators like, as they would actually purchase him in mid-summer), not because we don’t love Arthur Lee’s sweet swing, but just because we’ve filled our quota of left-handed bats in the outfield. We can park Holman in triple-A.
March 1969: The Boston Red Sox released outfielder George Thomas.
He doesn’t make the cut.
The 1969 season: Actual deals we will make
May 5, 1969: The Boston Red Sox traded outfielder Bill Schlesinger to the Philadelphia Phillies for outfielder Don Lock.
The right-handed power-hitting veteran Lock is a good fit for a Boston backup role.
May 7, 1969: The Boston Red Sox sold outfielder Jose Tartabull to the Oakland Athletics.
A better fit, indeed, then the slap-hitting Tartabull.
June 10, 1969: The New York Yankees purchased pitcher Ken Johnson from the Atlanta Braves.
June 23, 1969: The Boston Red Sox sold pitcher Garry Roggenburk to the Seattle Pilots.
July 5, 1969: The Boston Red Sox purchased pitcher Ron Kline from the San Francisco Giants.
Aug. 11, 1969: The New York Yankees sold pitcher Ken Johnson to the Chicago Cubs.
Sep. 6, 1969: The Boston Red Sox traded pitcher Mike Jackson to the Philadelphia Phillies for pitcher Gary Wagner.
Back-end-of-the-bullpen maintenance that all seems reasonable.
Sep. 11, 1969: The New York Yankees traded outfielder Jimmie Hall to the Chicago Cubs for pitcher Terry Bongiovanni, a player to be named later, and cash. (On Jan. 6, 1970, the Cubs sent outfielder Rick Bladt to the Yankees, completing the deal.)
And this is a fair return for the struggling veteran Hall.
The 1969 season: Actual deals we will not make
April 26, 1969: The New York Yankees returned pitcher Don Nottebart to the Cincinnati Reds following previous purchase.
We’ll give Nottebart a chance in our ‘pen.
May 19, 1969: The New York Yankees traded outfielder Dick Simpson to the Seattle Pilots for outfielder Jose Vidal.
And we don’t see the point in exchanging a 25-year-old, right-handed-batting, toolsy-but-strikeout-prone outfielder for a 29-year-old, right-handed-batting, toolsy-but-strikeout-prone outfielder.
May 20, 1969: The New York Yankees traded pitcher Fred Talbot to the Seattle Pilots for pitcher Jack Aker.
Talbot’s nothing special, but he has the capacity to handle starting assignments, and thus we see more use for him on our staff than the strictly-reliever Aker.
June 12, 1969: The Cleveland Indians traded pitcher Rob Gardner to the New York Yankees for catcher John Orsino.
Our Indians don’t like the idea of trading a 24-year-old left-handed pitcher for a 31-year-old backup catcher.
June 13, 1969: The Cleveland Indians traded pitcher Jack Hamilton to the Chicago White Sox for pitcher Sammy Ellis.
We don’t have Hamilton, and don’t want Ellis.
June 14, 1969: The New York Yankees traded infielder-outfielder Tom Tresh to the Detroit Tigers for outfielder Ron Woods.
The Tigers will have to make this deal with Seattle.
June 15, 1969: The Boston Red Sox traded catcher Joe Azcue to the California Angels for catcher-infielder Tom Satriano.
Our Red Sox won’t have Azcue (see below), so can’t make this one.
June 20, 1969: The Cleveland Indians traded outfielder Lee Maye to the Washington Senators for pitcher Bill Denehy and cash.
We already sent Mr. Maye to Washington.
July 26, 1969: The Cleveland Indians sold infielder Zoilo Versalles to the Washington Senators.
And we don’t wish to send Señor Versalles there.
Sep. 21, 1969: The Cleveland Indians sold pitcher Juan Pizarro to the Oakland Athletics.
Our Indians don’t have Pizarro. Our Red Sox do, and he isn’t for sale.
The 1969 season: Deals we will invoke
April 19, 1969: The Boston Red Sox traded third baseman-first baseman George Scott and pitcher Lee Stange to the Cleveland Indians for pitcher Sonny Siebert and third baseman Max Alvis.
Think this one’s a bombshell? Actually on this date, the Red Sox sent Ken Harrelson—who’d burst into stardom in 1968—to Cleveland along with Pizarro and another key pitcher, Dick Ellsworth, in exchange for Siebert, Azcue, and the Indians’ top reliever, Vicente Romo. That would be your serious Blockbuster:
Young fans may be familiar with “Hawk” Harrelson only as a free-spirited broadcaster, but trust me on this, he was a free-spirited ballplayer too. At the time of this trade, he was 27, wore longish “mod” hair and frequently sported a Nehru jacket, and had already been fired by Charlie Finley for having too much attitude — no small feat. He’d also led the major leagues in RBIs in 1968, but with the 1969 return of Tony Conigliaro from his terrible injury, the Red Sox accepted this Indians’ offer of a substantial pitching upgrade.
Harrelson, for his part, immediately announced he would retire from baseball instead of reporting to Cleveland. He was persuaded to change his mind after a few days; the Indians’ sudden offer of a two-year contract that nearly doubled his salary was probably helpful in that regard.
Our version of the Red Sox is unwilling to part with Harrelson, who despite his checkered past, is still just 27 and was so terrific in ’68 that we expect him to produce several more big years in Fenway. So no refusing-to-report-to-Cleveland dramatics on Hawk’s part will be forthcoming in our scenario.
But our Red Sox do share the notion that with Tony C.’s return, we’re in a position to expend a right-handed bat in order to shore up the pitching. And our Red Sox aren’t yet convinced that young Boomer Scott, who flopped so horribly in 1968 and is hitting just .194 so far in ’69, is ready to bounce back. (Conigliaro, for his part, is off to a .267 start, with two homers.) So despite his great potential, we’ll offer up Scott as the bait to attract a Cleveland pitcher.
Our Indians, distinctly in need of hitting talent, will take the Scott gamble. But we won’t surrender as big a package as Cleveland actually did; in particular we aren’t giving up Romo. Siebert, a solid, steady, good-but-not-great 32-year-old starter, seems a fair exchange for Scott at this point. And we can balance out the rosters by sending Boston the faded star third baseman Alvis in return for the veteran swingman Stange.
Aug. 29, 1969: The New York Yankees traded pitcher Fred Talbot to the Oakland Athletics for outfielder-first baseman Pete Koegel and pitcher Bob Meyer.
Actually on this date it was Seattle making this deal with the A’s. Our Yankees, far out of the division race, will take the Oakland offer of a prospect and a veteran minor leaguer.
Aug. 30, 1969: The New York Yankees traded first baseman-outfielder Tommy Davis to the Houston Astros for outfielder Danny Walton and cash.
And the Pilots also made this one, which makes just as much sense for our Yankees.
1969 season results
Yankees
Even by 1968 standards, the 1968 Yankees had some holes in the batting order, and we’re doing what we can to enliven the attack. We’re replacing Mantle at first base with Davis. The rest of our additions are rookies: Moses, acquired from the Boston organization, has the opportunity to take over as our primary catcher; at third base, we’re installing highly-touted prospect Bobby Murcer (an error-prone shortstop in the minors); and at shortstop, we’ll go with the smoother-fielding, slap-hitting Jerry Kenney. We also think 26-year-old Bill Robinson, in his third big league season, is ready to step forward as a productive regular in right field.
The strength of the ’68 team was its pitching. We’ve surrendered no key pitchers, and we’ve added Hargan and Kekich in trades, and moreover we’re anticipating southpaw Al Downing to make his way back from a sore arm.
1969 New York Yankees Won 80 Lost 81 Finished 5th
Pos Player Age G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+
1B-LF T. Davis 30 117 409 54 110 27 2 4 58 28 42 .269 .316 .374 .690 96
2B H. Clarke# 29 156 641 82 183 26 7 4 46 53 41 .285 .340 .367 .707 102
SS-3B J. Kenney* 24 130 447 49 115 14 2 2 32 48 36 .257 .329 .311 .640 83
3B-OF B. Murcer* 23 152 564 82 146 24 4 26 80 50 103 .259 .319 .454 .773 118
RF-CF B. Robinson 26 87 222 23 38 11 2 3 19 16 39 .171 .227 .279 .506 44
CF-1B J. Pepitone* 28 135 513 49 124 16 3 27 68 30 42 .242 .284 .442 .726 104
LF R. White# 25 130 448 61 130 30 5 7 65 81 51 .290 .399 .426 .825 135
C J. Moses 22 96 256 22 70 14 2 5 26 14 45 .273 .311 .402 .713 102
SS G. Michael# 31 89 248 24 67 14 3 1 17 26 33 .270 .339 .363 .702 100
C J. Gibbs* 30 71 197 16 44 8 2 0 14 21 27 .223 .298 .284 .582 67
1B D. McDonald* 26 78 197 21 45 7 1 8 24 19 40 .228 .296 .396 .692 96
OF J. Hall* 31 67 178 18 40 6 4 2 19 17 30 .225 .292 .337 .629 79
3B-SS J. Kennedy 28 61 128 16 30 3 2 3 12 15 26 .234 .315 .359 .674 92
C J. Orsino 31 42 99 7 22 3 0 2 11 14 11 .222 .319 .313 .632 81
OF J. Lyttle* 23 28 83 7 15 4 0 0 4 4 19 .181 .218 .229 .447 28
OF D. Simpson 25 32 62 10 12 4 1 1 7 8 24 .194 .286 .339 .624 77
IF L. Boehmer 28 15 36 2 6 1 0 0 2 3 3 .167 .231 .194 .425 22
Others 257 27 62 5 4 6 27 24 54 .241 .309 .362 .671 91
Pitchers 381 24 47 8 1 2 20 26 159 .123 .167 .165 .333 -5
Total 5366 594 1306 225 45 103 551 497 825 .243 .304 .360 .664 89
* Bats left
# Bats both
Pitcher Age G GS CG W L SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA ERA+
M. Stottlemyre 27 39 39 24 20 14 0 303 267 105 95 19 97 113 2.82 124
F. Peterson* 27 37 37 16 17 16 0 272 228 95 77 15 43 150 2.55 138
S. Bahnsen 24 40 33 5 9 16 1 221 222 102 94 28 90 130 3.83 92
A. Downing* 28 30 15 5 7 5 0 131 117 57 49 12 49 85 3.37 104
F. Talbot 28 25 15 1 5 5 0 95 101 48 41 8 36 59 3.88 90
M. Kekich* 24 25 13 1 4 5 1 94 82 52 48 10 44 59 4.60 76
S. Hargan 26 7 3 0 1 2 0 20 18 23 21 3 21 9 9.45 37
L. McDaniel 33 51 0 0 5 6 9 84 84 37 33 4 23 60 3.54 99
S. Hamilton* 33 38 0 0 3 4 4 57 39 22 21 7 21 39 3.32 106
R. Klimkowski 25 29 3 1 5 2 2 72 63 25 19 3 23 19 2.38 148
D. Nottebart 33 20 0 0 1 1 1 24 30 15 14 3 8 12 5.25 67
K. Johnson 36 12 0 0 1 2 1 26 19 11 10 1 11 21 3.46 101
J. Cumberland* 22 11 2 0 2 2 1 32 37 20 17 3 15 12 4.78 73
Others 2 0 0 1 0 11 11 5 4 1 3 6 3.27 107
Total 162 53 80 81 20 1442 1318 617 543 117 484 774 3.39 104
* Throws left
First, the good news: all of the rookies come through nicely, especially Murcer, who has defensive struggles at third base, but emerges as one of the better young power hitters in the league. Our holdover regulars—Roy White in left field, Joe Pepitone in center, and Horace Clarke at second base—all deliver as expected. And on the mound, righty Mel Stottlemyre and lefty Fritz Peterson are a solid pair of aces.
But the rest of the outcomes are less favorable. Davis doesn’t impress, and so we cash him in for a prospect at the end of August. Robinson is ghastly, and right field becomes a gaping hole. Sophomore starting pitcher Stan Bahnsen falls well short of his 1968 Rookie of the Year form, and Hargan is a disaster, banished to the minors in June.
Thus on balance it’s a one step forward, one step back kind of year. The Yankees were a .500-ish, middle-of-the-pack performer in 1968, and that’s where we wind up again in ’69. There’s still a ways to go for the once-feared Bombers to return to contention.
Red Sox
The trade of Scott opens up third base for line-drive-hitting Dalton Jones. He disappointed in 1968, but we believe he’ll emerge as a good platoon player, paired with the sore-backed veteran Alvis, who’s superior defensively, and might thrive in a limited role. Behind the plate, we’re giving opportunities to the sophomore Fernandez and the rookie King.
While we’re confident this team will produce runs, we’re concerned about the pitching. Too much depends on the return to 1967 Cy Young Award form of ace Jim Lonborg, devastated by a knee injury in ’68.
1969 Boston Red Sox Won 85 Lost 77 Finished 4th
Pos Player Age G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+
1B K. Harrelson 27 152 513 85 114 13 4 29 80 90 93 .222 .337 .433 .770 108
2B M. Andrews 25 121 464 79 136 26 2 15 59 71 53 .293 .383 .455 .837 127
SS-3B R. Petrocelli 26 154 535 92 159 32 2 40 97 98 68 .297 .401 .589 .990 167
3B D. Jones* 25 111 336 50 74 18 3 3 33 39 36 .220 .302 .318 .620 69
RF T. Conigliaro 24 141 506 57 129 21 3 20 82 48 111 .255 .320 .427 .747 102
CF R. Smith# 24 143 543 87 168 29 7 25 93 54 67 .309 .367 .527 .894 141
LF-1B C. Yastrzemski* 29 162 603 96 154 28 2 40 111 101 91 .255 .362 .507 .870 135
C F. Fernandez 26 107 286 48 65 6 0 20 42 79 83 .227 .400 .458 .858 133
IF D. Schofield# 34 94 226 30 58 9 3 2 20 29 44 .257 .349 .350 .698 91
IF S. O'Brien 25 95 237 42 58 9 5 8 26 13 33 .245 .282 .426 .709 91
OF J. Lahoud* 22 91 174 26 32 5 0 7 17 32 34 .184 .314 .333 .647 77
C H. King* 25 71 171 18 45 6 1 3 16 22 43 .263 .350 .363 .713 95
3B M. Alvis 31 44 127 11 29 4 0 1 10 9 18 .228 .277 .283 .561 53
C R. Gibson 30 43 96 7 23 3 0 1 8 4 9 .240 .265 .302 .567 54
OF D. Lock 32 53 58 8 13 1 0 1 2 11 21 .224 .343 .293 .636 75
IF L. Alvarado 20 39 62 7 13 2 1 0 3 2 12 .210 .242 .274 .517 41
3B G. Scott 25 9 36 2 7 0 0 2 4 3 6 .194 .275 .361 .636 72
Others 54 7 13 3 1 2 5 6 15 .241 .328 .444 .772 118
Pitchers 417 23 55 8 0 2 23 27 170 .132 .174 .165 .340 -7
Total 5444 775 1345 223 34 221 731 738 1007 .247 .335 .422 .757 105
* Bats left
# Bats both
Pitcher Age G GS CG W L SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA ERA+
R. Culp 27 32 32 9 17 7 0 227 195 103 96 25 79 172 3.81 101
S. Siebert 32 33 27 2 15 10 2 179 170 106 79 25 71 136 3.97 97
D. Ellsworth* 29 30 27 3 7 10 0 176 217 99 85 17 49 61 4.35 88
J. Lonborg 27 29 23 4 7 11 0 144 148 78 72 15 65 100 4.50 85
B. Farmer 22 29 17 4 8 9 0 140 171 87 72 14 53 67 4.63 83
G. Janeski 23 28 14 4 6 8 0 124 167 71 64 7 30 43 4.65 83
L. Stange 32 3 2 1 1 1 0 18 18 7 6 0 6 3 3.00 128
S. Lyle* 24 71 0 0 8 3 19 103 91 33 29 8 48 93 2.53 152
J. Pizarro* 32 57 4 1 4 4 10 100 84 44 38 10 56 52 3.42 112
B. Landis* 26 45 5 0 5 5 1 82 82 53 48 7 49 50 5.27 73
F. Wenz 27 39 0 0 1 1 6 46 34 20 20 10 34 39 3.91 98
G. Roggenburk* 29 19 3 1 3 2 1 36 44 28 23 4 15 21 5.75 67
R. Kline 37 16 0 0 0 1 1 17 24 11 9 4 17 7 4.76 81
J. Santiago 28 10 0 0 0 0 0 8 11 5 3 2 4 4 3.38 114
Others 8 1 3 5 0 67 69 36 34 7 39 37 4.57 84
Total 162 30 85 77 40 1467 1525 781 678 155 615 885 4.16 92
* Throws left
The Jones/Alvis third base platoon proves to be a dud. But shortstop Rico Petrocelli busts out with a huge year, and generally the offense more than meets expectations, particularly in terms of power production, shattering the Boston franchise record for team home runs with the third-highest tally in major league history. Moreover, we draw the most walks of any big league team since 1951.
But it’s an extreme “three true outcomes” attack, as numerous hitters struggle with batting average. Both Harrelson and Carl Yastrzemski, while delivering home runs aplenty, see their averages drop by some 50 points from their 1968 marks.
But the real problem is, as feared, pitching. Siebert helps, but not enough, as Lonborg remains ineffective, and rookies Billy Farmer and Gerry Janeski are pressed into too-prominent roles. Though southpaw Sparky Lyle blossoms as a first-rate ace reliever, overall our staff is far below contender-quality. We’re a good team, but the magic of 1967 remains elusive.
Indians
The third-place Cleveland team of 1968 was pitching-rich but hitting-thin. The Siebert-for-Scott swap is one step we’ve taken to address that. We’re also counting on significant contributions from a pair of youngsters being moved into starting roles: switch-hitter Richie Scheinblum in right field, and speedster Dave Nelson at second base.
Still, we understand that the major strength of this ball club remains our hard-throwing ace pitcher duo: right-hander Luis Tiant and southpaw Sudden Sam McDowell.
1969 Cleveland Indians Won 68 Lost 93 Finished 6th
Pos Player Age G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+
1B T. Horton 24 159 625 77 174 25 4 27 94 37 91 .278 .318 .461 .779 113
2B V. Fuller 25 108 254 25 60 11 1 4 22 20 53 .236 .293 .335 .628 73
SS L. Brown 29 132 469 48 112 10 2 4 24 44 43 .239 .301 .294 .596 66
3B G. Scott 25 137 494 57 124 13 5 13 50 55 66 .251 .328 .377 .704 95
RF R. Nagelson* 24 83 254 32 55 6 3 9 29 40 64 .217 .322 .370 .692 91
CF J. Cardenal 25 146 557 75 143 26 3 11 46 49 58 .257 .312 .373 .685 89
LF-CF R. Snyder* 35 122 266 26 66 10 0 2 24 25 33 .248 .311 .308 .619 72
C D. Sims* 28 114 326 40 77 8 0 18 46 66 80 .236 .373 .426 .800 121
OF-2B L. Klimchock* 29 115 351 34 98 15 2 10 40 24 21 .279 .323 .419 .742 104
IF Z. Versalles 29 103 292 30 70 13 2 1 19 24 59 .240 .302 .308 .610 69
OF C. Peterson 26 84 183 19 45 7 0 2 24 39 29 .246 .379 .317 .696 95
UT C. Hinton 35 94 202 30 53 6 3 6 32 14 36 .262 .312 .411 .723 99
RF R. Scheinblum# 26 61 191 17 40 7 1 2 20 20 25 .209 .282 .288 .570 58
C J. Azcue 29 57 149 10 32 3 0 1 11 15 19 .215 .287 .255 .542 51
IF E. Leon 22 64 142 13 33 4 0 2 13 13 25 .232 .291 .303 .594 65
2B D. Nelson 25 52 123 11 25 0 0 0 6 9 26 .203 .255 .203 .459 29
C K. Suarez 26 36 43 4 11 2 0 1 4 7 7 .256 .353 .372 .725 101
3B M. Alvis 31 8 16 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 2 .125 .118 .125 .243 -33
Others 84 7 15 1 1 2 8 5 21 .179 .220 .286 .505 39
Pitchers 355 20 56 8 1 2 24 17 129 .157 .184 .201 .384 6
Total 5376 576 1291 175 28 117 537 523 887 .240 .306 .348 .654 81
* Bats left
# Bats both
Pitcher Age G GS CG W L SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA ERA+
S. McDowell* 26 39 38 18 18 14 1 285 222 111 93 13 102 279 2.94 127
L. Tiant 28 38 37 9 9 20 0 250 229 123 103 37 129 156 3.71 101
L. Stange 32 33 15 2 5 8 1 123 123 59 50 13 51 54 3.66 102
B. Rohr* 23 15 10 1 4 6 0 66 89 37 34 5 29 26 4.64 81
S. Siebert 32 2 2 0 0 1 0 14 10 5 5 1 8 6 3.21 116
V. Romo 26 55 11 4 8 10 9 135 122 50 46 13 55 96 3.07 122
S. Williams 32 49 15 3 5 13 8 160 141 79 71 24 59 124 3.99 94
E. Fisher 32 47 1 0 4 2 1 73 74 33 30 7 21 36 3.70 101
M. Paul* 24 43 14 0 5 10 2 117 106 49 48 13 53 97 3.69 101
D. Brandon 28 31 10 1 4 3 0 79 86 40 32 5 35 51 3.65 103
G. Kroll 27 19 0 0 0 0 0 24 16 14 11 3 22 28 4.13 91
B. Allen* 31 18 0 0 2 0 0 31 40 13 13 2 9 13 3.77 99
H. Pina 24 16 2 0 2 1 1 24 22 15 14 3 14 16 5.25 71
Others 6 0 2 5 0 57 54 30 27 5 34 34 4.26 88
Total 161 38 68 93 23 1438 1334 658 577 144 621 1016 3.61 104
* Throws left
A few things go well. McDowell has another big year, and first baseman Tony Horton and catcher Duke Sims both deliver outstanding power.
But our list of problems is distressingly long. It starts with Tiant, who slumps so badly that he leaps directly from 20-game-winner to 20-game-loser. Scheinblum hits so poorly that he’s sent back to the minors in mid-season; his replacement, rookie Russ Nagelson, hits better than Scheinblum, but not well. Nelson suffers a leg injury and is essentially useless.
Scott doesn’t hit poorly, but reinventing his approach following his disastrous 1968, focuses on putting the ball in play and doesn’t produce much thump.
Altogether, there just isn’t enough quality on this roster to overcome such setbacks. The result is a dreadful last-place season, indeed the worst performance by a Cleveland team since 1928.
Yankees: Actual Red Sox: Actual Indians: Actual
Year W L Pos RS RA W L Pos RS RA W L Pos RS RA
1969 80 81 5 562 587 87 75 3 743 736 62 99 6 573 717
Yankees: Virtual Red Sox: Virtual Indians: Virtual
Year W L Pos RS RA W L Pos RS RA W L Pos RS RA
1969 80 81 5 594 617 85 77 4 775 781 68 93 6 576 658
Next time
We’ll find out if our Yankees and Red Sox can get some forward traction. And if our Indians can stop the backward slide.
Mickey Mantle hadn’t retired in November 1968, so the Yankees didn’t have to replace him with Tommy Davis. He didn’t quit until spring training of 1969.
My real objection is I fear this series isn’t going to end well for the Yankees. You’ve already kept them from obtaining some of my favorite players.
“Mickey Mantle hadn’t retired in November 1968, so the Yankees didn’t have to replace him with Tommy Davis. He didn’t quit until spring training of 1969.”
D’oh!
“My real objection is I fear this series isn’t going to end well for the Yankees. You’ve already kept them from obtaining some of my favorite players.”
Jack Aker? Ron Woods?
The Mantle error is forgivable. He hit .230 and was pretty much done. It would be plausable that the Yankees would be looking for a replacement at that point.
It was pretty much known that Mantle was done at the end of ‘68. That’s why Denny McLain threw him a gopher ball on purpose in a blowout late in the season. If McLain knew it, I am sure the Yankees’ front office did, too.